IKEA is a Swedish-origin Dutch (Netherlands)-headquartered multinational conglomerate that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories, among other goods and home services. Founded in Sweden in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been the world’s largest furniture retailer since 2008. The brand used by the group is an acronym that consists of the founder’s initials, and those of Elmtaryd, the family farm where he was born, and the nearby village Agunnaryd (his hometown in Småland, southern Sweden)

As of March 2021, there are 378 IKEA stores operating in 30 countries and in the fiscal year 2018, €38.8 billion (US$44.6 billion) worth of IKEA goods were sold. All IKEA stores are operated under franchise from Inter IKEA Systems B.V., most of which are operated by IKEA Group, some of which are operated by other independent owners.

The IKEA website contains about 12,000 products. The group is responsible for approximately 1% of world commercial-product wood consumption, making it one of the largest users of wood in the retail sector.

Distribution center efficiency and flexibility have been one of Ikea’s ongoing priorities and thus it has implemented automated, robotic warehouse systems and warehouse management systems (WMS). Such systems facilitate a merger of the traditional retail and mail-order sales channels into an omnichannel fulfilment model. In 2020, Ikea was noted by Supply Chain magazine as having one of the most automated warehouse systems in the world.